


It's All Happening at the Zoo

by sinnerforhire



Series: ZooAmerica 'verse [1]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Workplace Sex, Zoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-03
Updated: 2010-02-03
Packaged: 2017-10-07 00:31:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinnerforhire/pseuds/sinnerforhire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sick of spending the summer in a sweltering amusement park kitchen, Jared applies to work in the Admissions department at ZooAmerica. When he meets zoo intern Jensen, the two connect almost immediately. Surrounded by a colorful cast of zookeepers and part-time employees, Jared and Jensen carry on a secret romantic relationship. When Jared wants to make their secret relationship public, sparks fly--and not the good kind. However, a serious accident soon forces Jared to reevaluate his priorities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

"I swear, if I have to spend another summer in front of a goddamn pizza oven, I'm gonna put arsenic in the cheese shakers."

"You know, you don't have to work in Foods just because your brother does," replies Chad. "You should apply to Front Gate. It's almost all girls and the booths are air-conditioned."

Jared raises an eyebrow. "That does sound pretty sweet."

"Plus, you'd mostly work opening shifts, and if you did close, you'd just be checking hand stamps or passes."

"So why didn't you start in Front Gate?" asks Jared.

"You get promoted faster in Rides," Chad answers. "I'm gonna make green tag before the Fourth."

When Jared fills out his reapplication to Hersheypark later that afternoon, he checks Guest Services - Admissions as his first choice, with Rides as his backup and Foods as his last choice. He'll have to take a pay cut to work Admissions--over a dollar an hour. That's going to hurt, especially with the gas prices nowadays, but not having to sweat over a fryer for eight hours (or more, now that he's eighteen and not covered under child labor laws) or wash pizza pans until quarter of midnight just might be worth it.

He gets the call about two weeks later, but it's not what he was expecting. The pleasant-sounding woman whose name he doesn't catch asks him if he'd be willing to start in Zoo Admissions in mid-May. After she sweetens the pot with promises of early closing and air-conditioning, he can't help but say yes.

The catch turns out to be that Jared has to attend an orientation meeting in April, a week before the Park's official opening on May 1st. So that's why he's awake at seven fucking a.m. on a Saturday facing a two-hour drive each way for less than three hours of on-the-clock work. He mentally curses Chad for putting the switching-departments idea in his head, then curses himself for the hundredth time for actually listening to Chad.

He has to stop at the service center to fill out paperwork for HR and to pick up his employee ID card and uniform. In addition to the standard windbreaker and raincoat, he receives two maroon polos with "ZooAmerica Guest Services" embroidered on the chest, two pairs of polyester khaki shorts with sewn-in cuffs, and one pair of polyester khaki pants he knows will be too short. He checks the back of the nametag and sure enough, the red star sticker from last summer is still there. He changes in the locker room and starts walking back to his truck. He's about halfway to the parking lot when a green Jeep pulls up beside him. "You headed to the zoo for orientation?" asks the driver, a dark-haired guy in the same maroon shirt.

"Yeah," Jared answers. "You going that way?"

"Sure am," replies the driver. "You want a ride?"

"That'd be great." Jared holds up his stack of clothes. "Just let me put these in my truck first."

"Actually, you're better off keeping the jackets at the staff house," says the driver. "And you can stash the other stuff in the office. Jump in."

Jared tosses the clothes into the backseat and climbs in the passenger seat. "Thanks for stopping. I wasn't looking forward to the walk."

The driver grins. "No problem. You're Jared, right?"

"That's what the tag says," Jared answers with a grin of his own.

"My name's Tom," the other man replies. "I'm your green tag. Now, you've worked at the Park before?"

Jared nods. "Foods. Minetown Restaurant, mostly."

"I can see why you'd want out of there." Tom guides the Jeep out of the employee lot. "You can use the clock in the arcade there if you don't want to walk all the way through the zoo to use the one in the staff house."

"Cool." Jared watches the steady stream of cars heading into the employee lot. The Park isn't open to the public, but there are several private parties taking place today; the higher-ups like to use these weekends to break in the new employees, most of whom are local high school students.

"There'll be four other people in your orientation," says Tom. "One other Admissions employee, two from Foods, and one from Retail. Oh, and one prospective intern who's visiting for the weekend might hang out with you guys a bit."

When they get to the zoo, Tom parks the Jeep in the lowest corner of the parking lot, next to a long, flat building. "That's the vet building," says Tom as he unlocks a gate. Jared follows him into the zoo proper and Tom points to a residential house complete with front porch. "That's the staff house. Our time clock's in there. You'll get the full tour with Sam."

As they're walking up the hill to the Admissions building, they're stopped by a man in a green polo and cargo shorts Jared assumes is a keeper. He gestures to the red-haired teenager shyly trailing him. "I found a stray. Can I keep it? I promise I'll walk it and feed it and take real good care of it!"

Tom chuckles. "Sorry, Misha, she's one of ours." He smiles softly at the skittish girl. "You must be Julie. Come on, I'll show you where orientation will start." She hurries to Tom's side, relief plain on her face. Tom mock-scowls at Misha. "What have we told you about scaring the newbies?"

Misha pretends to be chagrined. "Sorry, Chief. Won't happen again." He raises the small cooler he's holding. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a breakfast date with Sierra, and she can be a real bitch in the mornings."

"And every other time of the day," calls a voice. Jared turns to see an older, stockier man standing outside the nearest pen with a half-eaten banana in one hand. The doe inside the pen noses at the fence near his hand.

"What's she doing?" Jared asks, moving closer.

The older keeper smiles. "She's telling me to hurry my ass up and give her a treat." He pulls the banana out of the peel and tosses the peel over the fence. The doe snaps it up and munches it happily.

Jared raises an eyebrow. "She likes banana peels?"

"Can't get enough of 'em. Nobody really knows why. The rescue she came from thought she might've had to do some dumpster-diving," he replies. "They found her just up the road, not far from the hospital."

"What's her name?" Julie asks, too softly for the keeper to hear. Jared repeats the question for her.

"Venison," the keeper answers. At their appalled looks, he holds up a hand. "Misha named her. He has a rather... twisted sense of humor."

"That's so mean!" cries Julie. Jared whirls around to look at her, shocked that she spoke out. She blushes furiously and ducks her head.

"Yo, Welling!" Another green-shirted man emerges from the building to their right, which Jared realizes is the cafe. "Where the fuck are my bags?"

Tom digs into his backpack and produces two locked money bags. The man jogs over to accept them and Jared gets a look at his nametag, which is edged with blue and proclaims his name to be Michael. "Manners, Rosey. There are newbies listening."

"Unless one of them is Singer in disguise, I don't really give a shit." Michael glances at the entrance, as though he expects Bob Singer, the Foods brown tag in charge of Minetown and Comet Hollow, to have magically appeared in the last thirty seconds. Singer's a total dick--Jared saw him make a green tag cry once--so Jared doesn't blame Michael for being a little paranoid.

Tom looks at his watch. "Crap, it's later than I thought." He motions to Jared and Julie. "The classroom's right beside the shop."

They walk up the hill and Tom shows Jared where to leave his extra uniform pieces, then removes the chain from a staircase just outside the Admissions building marked "Education Only." Jared and Julie follow him down to a subterranean room which turns out to be surprisingly large, airy, and well-lit.

"They redesigned this room over the winter," Tom explains. The walls are plastered with posters and other displays and there are two large glass cases which house ceramic models of every kind of animal in the zoo. "Sam should be here any minute. She'll take you to the staff house to clock in and then she'll give you the standard tour. After that, you two will come up to Admissions and we'll go over your basic duties. You should be out of here no later than twelve-thirty."

Jared nods. That'll give him about an hour and half to kill before he can meet Chad for lunch. Chad's doing orientation today too, but unlike Jared, he's helping run it. Chad's a red tag in Rides; his official title is Foreman - Claw Group. How Chad got promoted in the first place, Jared has no idea--Chad isn't exactly responsible.

There's a small commotion outside. A minute later, two teenage boys--neither of whom can possibly be old enough to drive--stumble into the classroom, followed by a scowling blonde. "I should report you," she says, crossing her arms.

"I said I was sorry!" protests the shorter of the boys. His shirt isn't tucked in and his nametag is unpinned and hanging off his shirt.

"Your nametag's coming off," Jared points out as an attempt to defuse the situation.

"Oh, thanks," the kid replies. When he pins it back up, it's crooked, but Jared can read the name printed on it--Dustin.

"And you probably want to tuck your shirt in," Jared adds. "Some supervisors get bitchy about it."

The other boy frowns. "You've worked here before?"

"In Foods," Jared answers. "I switched departments 'cause it sucked."

'We're in Foods," says Dustin, eyes wide. "Is it really that bad?"

"It might not be over here," replies Jared. "I don't know."

The blonde girl still looks pissed. She doesn't have a nametag either. Jared smiles at her. "What's your name?"

"Katie," she answers, face softening just a bit. "I'm in Retail, thank God." She glares at Dustin again. "I did face-painting at Craftbarn, and then when they moved out of there, I got stuck at Stroller Rental." She makes a face. "You would not believe how gross those things were when they were returned. I told them if they didn't send me somewhere else, I'd quit."

Jared turns to Julie, determined to get her into the conversation. "Is this your first time working at the Park?" She nods slightly and looks down at the floor. Jared tries again. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen," she replies, barely audible. She glances up for a split second. "I used to be a camp counselor, but they closed the place I worked."

The door opens and in walks the woman Jared assumes must be their orientation leader. She's dressed in cargo shorts and boots like a keeper and she has one of the old-style blue name tags that are impossible to read from too far away. "Good morning, everybody. You're all here for orientation, correct?" They all nod silently. "And none of you are clocked in yet?"

"I can't clock in," says the other boy from Foods. "They didn't have my ID card ready."

"Did they give you your employee number?"

He digs in his pocket and pulls out a crumpled slip of paper. "Yeah."

"Okay, I'll get you squared away later." She turns back to the group. "My name is Sam Ferris and I'm the Education Coordinator for ZooAmerica. My job for today is to show you around the zoo and give you a little background on the zoo itself as well as the animals on exhibit. But first off, we need to take a trip up to the staff house to get you clocked in." She gestures to the open door. "Follow me."

She takes them back to the staff house, which is a real residential house converted into administrative offices and a break area. "In the early years of the zoo, the keeper actually lived here in this house," Sam explains. "Most of the upstairs rooms are used for storage, but we do keep one bedroom furnished for bad snowstorms. Last time anybody had to use it was '93."

Sam shows the total newbies how to clock in. There are directions posted right next to the clock and the only button white tags ever have to use is marked with a neon green sticker. Jared and Katie clock themselves in while Sam retrieves a schedule change sheet for the ID-less boy, whom Jared eventually learns is named Tristan.

Sam leads them through the zoo "backwards," as she puts it, because she wants to hit the otter exhibit at eleven for the public feeding. They run into Misha again at the mountain lion pen and they also see Jim, who turns out to be the man with the banana from earlier.

They're outside the peregrine falcon's hut when they hear rough growling and yipping from the wolves' pen. Sam grins and rushes them over to watch. The two male wolves, Dakota and Rocky, are wrestling on the ground, nipping at each other's snouts and pawing each other's ears. Sam grins. "They're showing off--fighting for dominance, proving who's strongest." She pauses a moment to watch.

"They're not hurting each other, right?" asks Katie. Julie's standing beside her, and Jared figures that it's probably Julie's question.

"Oh, no," Sam assures her. "They're just boys being boys. They're brothers and they've been raised together from birth. This is normal pack behavior." She turns back to the pen and points at the two wolves, one of whom is holding the other down on his back. "That's Dakota's victory stance. He's pack leader, so Rocky usually ends up deferring to him."

Another wolf, this one almost pure white, steps out from behind a rock. "That's Acadia. Right now she's our only female. We're looking to introduce a new pup or two in a few weeks. Acadia's fixed, so she can't have a litter of her own, and it can be tricky to convince non-breeding females to foster other mothers' pups."

"She's beautiful," Julie murmurs from behind Jared, and he nods in agreement.

Sam checks her watch. "Sorry guys, we've got to move on." She leads them across the bridge and back toward the entrance. They pass the porcupine, who's asleep on top of a tree.

"I didn't know they could climb trees," says Tristan. Honestly, Jared didn't either, but he's not going to admit that.

Next they go through the desert and glades buildings. Julie refuses to look at the snakes and isn't real crazy about the alligator or crocodiles either. She coos over the swift fox, Ruby, who's about the size of a Pekingese, and almost screams when the coati, a raccoon-looking critter named Bela, suddenly jumps out of its tree. Watching Julie is almost as interesting as watching the animals, which Sam explains are most active in the mornings.

Standing outside the bobcat pen is a keeper Jared hasn't yet met, who's deep in conversation with a guy about Jared's age in a henley and jeans. Jared suddenly recalls Tom saying something about a prospective intern.

"'Morning, Jeff," says Sam.

"Oh, hey, Sam," the keeper replies. "These the new victims--I mean recruits?"

She chuckles. "Indeed. I see you picked up a stray yourself."

"This is Jensen," says Jeff. "He's visiting from Texas A&amp;M, looking at doing an internship with us this summer."

"What do you think of it so far?" Sam asks Jensen.

"It's great," Jensen answers, and the sincerity is absolute. "It's small enough that it seems like you can really get to know the animals, and a lot of the species here get short shrift at traditional zoos."

"Plus, it's not a hundred and five degrees in the shade here in August," Jared adds.

Jensen's eyes light up. "Don't tell me you're from Texas."

Jared grins. "San Antonio. We just moved here five years ago."

Sam motions toward the otter exhibit. "I think Misha's about to start." She hustles their group along, but Jensen catches Jared's eye, so Jared hangs back a little.

"We should talk," says Jensen quietly. "Since you know the area and all."

"Sure," Jared replies. "They said we should get out a little after noon."

"I'll meet you at the staff house." Jensen grins and it's a little blinding in the bright sunlight.

They walk over to the otter exhibit. Misha is crouched on the hill behind the pool with a small bucket of fish. "River otters in the wild actually eat mostly small crustaceans, amphibians, and non-game fish, but these two are a little spoiled." He grins and holds up a goldfish that must be about eight inches long. "We do release live prey into the water every Tuesday and Friday evening--hermit crabs, crayfish, goldfish, and occasionally shrimp. But otters in captivity need to be fed about three times a day due to their high metabolism and level of activity, so here we are." He whistles and both otters burst out of the water and scamper up the bank.

"What are their names?" calls Katie.

"This one on my left is Colt and the other is Winchester. They are both male," answers Misha as the otters chomp happily on the fish. He looks up. "And before you ask, I did not name them--Jim did."

Misha feeds them each a few more fish, then shows them the empty bucket. They slide back into the pond and bob about for a couple minutes, occasionally jumping over the other's back or poking a nose into the other's side. Julie and Katie stand transfixed, occasionally saying "awww" when they do something particularly cute.

"How long can they hold their breath?" asks Dustin.

"Up to eight minutes," says Misha. "And they can swim at speeds up to seven miles per hour. In comparison, Michael Phelps's top speed is about 5 miles per hour." He stands up. "That's it for me. Have a good day, guys."

Sam rounds them up and leads them back up the hill. Dustin and Tristan go into the cafe for their training and Jared, Julie, and Katie go on to the shop. Jared sees Tom standing behind the Admissions desk with a blonde woman. She smiles at them. "Welcome to Admissions! I'm Samantha, the Admissions supervisor. I'm going to give you an idea of what you can expect once the Park opens, and then I have a few things to go over with Julie." She gives the timid girl a soft smile and Julie returns it after a moment's hesitation.

Samantha tells them about the reciprocating zoo memberships and the children's educational programs before showing them a few transactions on the ticketing computer. She points out the brochure rack which they will have to stock throughout the day, the office, and the large supply closet where the rental strollers and wheelchairs are stored. After that she takes them up to the bridge and stamps each of their hands with the UV-reactive "invisible" ink so they can see the stamps under the black light affixed to the rail of the bridge. Bridge workers count everyone over a certain age who visits the zoo and write down the count every hour.

By the time Samantha finishes talking, Julie has lost the deer-caught-in-headlights expression and Jared is convinced that this will be the easiest job ever. He can hardly believe his good luck. Samantha gives them the direct numbers for Admissions and the office so they can call for their schedules and sends them on their way. Jared checks his watch. It's only five after twelve; he'll have plenty of time to talk to Jensen before he has to meet Chad.

When Jared gets to the staff house, he clocks out and then finds Jensen in the break room with Sam. She finishes the story she's telling--something about reindeer?--and then smiles at Jared. "So, how was your first day?"

"Well, I didn't have to spend five hours watching safety videos, so it was definitely better than my last 'first day'," Jared answers.

"Foods or Rides?" she replies.

"Foods." Jared shakes his head. "I didn't want to spend another summer inhaling fryer grease and wearing a hairnet. This place is great."

Sam grins. "I hear very few complaints." She turns back to Jensen. "It was very nice to meet you. I hope to see you again soon."

"I think that's up to Mr. Kripke, but thank you," says Jensen, giving her a self-deprecating smile. He stands up and grins at Jared. "You ready to get out of here?"

"Totally. No offense," he adds quickly.

Sam chuckles. "Enjoy the rest of your day, boys." She takes a bottle of water from the fridge and leaves.

"You have a car, right?" asks Jensen.

"Yeah, but it's in the employee lot," Jared answers. "Why?"

"I'm starving. I missed breakfast and I don't really like the looks of the kids in the cafe."

Jared laughs. "You don't know the half of it. Yeah, we can go somewhere else. There's a bunch of fast food places around."

"Wherever you want. I'm not picky." Jensen looks pointedly at his uniform shirt. "Are you gonna change?"

"Yeah, I have clothes up in the office," says Jared. "And we have to go up there anyway, my truck's in the employee lot behind the Park."

"Wouldn't I need a badge to get back there?" asks Jensen as they start walking up the hill.

"Nah, they won't really care since you're leaving, and they can always radio a keeper if they want to be stupid about it." They pass the cafe, where a slim redhead is wiping down the counters. She nods at Jared--he vaguely recognizes her, he probably worked with her once or twice last summer--but when she catches sight of Jensen her face lights up in an almost predatory grin. Jensen doesn't seem to notice her at all, so they just walk on up to the shop.

Jared retrieves his uniform and street clothes from the office but leaves the windbreaker and raincoat on a hook with several others. He wrote his employee number on the tags so he'll know which ones are his. "All right, we're good to go," he tells Jensen.

"I can't believe you can have a whole amusement park right in the middle of a town," says Jensen as they cross the bridge to the Park.

"I can't believe they can keep adding new rides every year and not run out of space," replies Jared. "They took out a ride I really liked to put a stupid wave pool in the water park."

Jensen raises an eyebrow. "There's a water park?"

"Well, sort of. It's not very big." Jared points to the Minetown Restaurant. "That's where I worked my last two summers, in the kitchen. It was _hell_. I couldn't eat pizza for three months afterwards and I'm still not real crazy about fries."

They cross the bridge by the dolphin show. "How big is this place?" asks Jensen.

"It's not as big as Six Flags, but there's so many hills that it almost feels that way." Jared points down the path to Founder's (formerly Carousel) Circle. "The entrance and the Arena are down that way."

"How old were you when you started working here?"

"Fifteen," Jared answers. "My parents told me if I wanted a car I'd have to pay for half of it myself, so I started working in Foods because it paid well. They would have promoted me last year, but I didn't turn eighteen until the middle of July. I wouldn't have wanted it anyway--I hated Foods."

"So you're in college, then?" Jared nods. "Where do you go?"

"Penn State." Jared waves to an old co-worker at the water cart. "It's about 2 hours away from here. I only came down for the day. I don't officially start till after finals."

"What's your major?"

Jared looks down. "I, uh...don't have one yet."

"That's okay," Jensen replies immediately. "It's better than spending three years studying something you really don't want to do and then having to take a whole extra year to finish."

Jared raises an eyebrow. "Speaking from experience?"

Jensen shakes his head. "Not mine. My brother's. My parents were pissed."

"So what are you studying?"

"Animal science, with a minor in tourism resource management," Jensen answers. "It's a good background to have if you want to work for a major commercial zoo."

"If that's what you want to do, then why are you here?" Jared tries to make the question sound more curious and less rude, but he's not sure he pulls it off.

"Jim's a friend of one of my professors. She posted the internship on the department website and I liked what I saw." Jensen shrugs. "I've spent my whole life in Texas. I wanted to see what else was out there."

"That's cool," Jared replies. "But I'm telling you, there's really nothing to do in this town. This is pretty much all we have." Jared points at the Midway employee gate. "There's the exit."

"Do you live in Hershey?" asks Jensen as Jared holds up his ID for the guard, who's about 70 and doesn't seem to give a shit about either of them.

"No, I live in Annville, which is even lamer than Hershey." Jared points to the manager's lot. "My brother gets to park in that lot. Privileges of being a blue tag."

"I noticed that your nametags have different colors," says Jensen. "What do they mean?"

"They show what level employee you are." They stop to let a Security truck pass. "The order is orange, yellow, red, green, blue, brown, gold. Orange and yellow used to be called 'white tags' and a lot of people still say that. Orange tags are minors, orange tags with the name underlined are under sixteen. Red is the first level of supervisor everywhere except Foods, which doesn't have red tags; brown tags are area managers; and gold tags are the department heads." Jared unlocks his truck and climbs in.

"Wow," says Jensen as they pull out of the parking lot. "Sounds like you should be a manager."

Jared shrugs. "I don't really care if I ever get promoted. I just don't want to hate my job."

McDonald's is crowded, but they manage to find a booth in the back. They eat in silence for a few minutes before Jared speaks up. "Why do you want to be a zookeeper?"

"I've always wanted to take care of animals, but I found out I wasn't cut out to be a vet." Jensen blushes slightly and looks down at his tray. "I got to shadow one and I passed out when they brought in a dog that got hit by a car. She was all bloody and you could see the bone sticking out of her leg... it was awful." He shudders at the memory. "That's when I decided I wanted to work with healthy animals, so being a zookeeper seemed like the best option."

Jared nods. "That makes sense." He takes a drink of his soda. "It seems like a cool job."

"I hope so," says Jensen. "I guess I'll find out."

"So do you think you'll take the internship if they offer it to you?"

Jensen grins. "Definitely."

 

Jared starts working at the zoo just two days after his last final. It's incredibly unfair, especially considering that he has to spend his one day of freedom unpacking and doing laundry. Plus, he has an opening shift on Saturday: 9:30 - 4:00. Sometimes, Jared's life sucks.

Saturday morning he decides to clock in at the staff house so he'll have an excuse to walk through the zoo. Samantha lets him in and out of the shop, and her cheery morning-person demeanor is almost too much to take. On his way down to the staff house he sees Jim feeding the bears and Misha feeding the porcupine. As he enters the staff house, he nearly runs into a tiny blonde girl on her way out.

"Oh, sorry," he says.

She looks up at him. "Jesus." He steps aside and lets her walk by him. "See you up there." Before he can ask her what she means, she's gone.

He swipes his card and punches in on the time clock. He turns to leave and comes face to face with Jensen. He grins. "You got the job!"

"I did," says Jensen, returning Jared's grin with one of his own. Jared hadn't noticed before, but Jensen's eyes are a bright, vibrant green. Standing this close to him, it's impossible _not_ to notice. Jensen's face falls. "Jared?"

Jared shakes his head. "Sorry, just zoned out for a second." He looks at his watch. "I gotta get up to the shop, my shift starts in three minutes."

"What time are you off?"

"Four. Why?"

"That's when I'm off too. I thought maybe you could show me around the Park," replies Jensen. "I mean, if you're not doing anything..."

"Sure, sounds good," says Jared. He takes a step toward the door. "Sorry, I really gotta go, but I'll meet you back here at four."

Jensen smiles. "See you then."

When Jared walks into the shop, he's surprised to see the blonde girl from earlier behind the Admissions counter. He glances at her nametag. A red ring encircles her name--Alona.   
"'Morning," she says. "Samantha's at a meeting, so I'm going to be teaching you the ticket program."

"Okay." She seems nice enough.

By the time she releases him for his fifteen-minute break, he's sold sixty-four adult tickets, thirty-six child tickets, seven family memberships, two individual adult memberships, and accepted thirteen reciprocal memberships.

"Not bad for your first day," says Alona. "You didn't crash the computer or need any overrides. I think we'll keep you." She grins. "You might want to grab a bottle of water; you'll be up on the bridge when you get back."

Jared nods and heads out to the cafe. There's a girl standing by the glades building holding an owl and talking to several children. He guesses that she's one of the volunteers Sam mentioned. He goes on down the hill to the cafe and gets a bottle of water and a soda. He gets his wallet out to pay for them, but the girl behind the counter just smiles at him. "Don't worry about it."

"Hey, thanks," he says.

"Anytime." She leans forward, dark hair falling over her shoulders. She's only about as tall as Alona, but she doesn't seem as small, somehow. And she's beautiful, with deep-set brown eyes and a perfect smile. "Come back and see me again."

"Sure." He sits down on a bench on the small patio and drinks his soda. Five minutes later, the dark-haired girl comes out and sits down across from him. He looks at her nametag. It has a little silver star next to her name--Sandy.

"This seat taken?" she asks.

"It is now," he replies, smiling a bit uncertainly.

She beams and sips something red through a straw. "You're new here, aren't you?" she asks.

"Yeah, it's my first day," he answers.

"How do you like it so far?"

"It's awesome." He finishes the soda and sets it aside. "All my supervisors are really nice and the work's pretty easy."

"Yeah, everybody here is great," says Sandy. "Are you working Memorial Day weekend?"

Jared rolls his eyes. "I open Saturday and Sunday and close Monday."

"Well, we're all going to Pizza Hut after close on Sunday," she replies. "You should come. It's always so much fun."

"I'll be there." Jared grins and looks at his watch. "Crap, my break's over. But I'll see you around?"

She gives him a coy smirk. "Count on it."

The rest of his shift kind of drags. He's stuck on the bridge with Julie, who apparently came in while he was on break, and she still hasn't gotten the hang of talking. He tries to engage her in conversation a couple of times but she gives him mostly one-word answers. Every time a guest asks a question she turns to him with a panicked look on her face and he ends up answering it. He knows that it's because she's new and doesn't know anything about the Park and he knows more than some green tags, but he can't help resenting her a little. He wonders why she even applied for this job if she can't talk to strangers.

After about an hour, though, he realizes that she's really good with the kids. She barely looks at the parents, but she talks to all the kids. She asks them how old they are and what animals they want to see and she smiles and acts like a human being. She should be running kiddie rides, not working Guest Services. He would point this out to her if he didn't think it would make her cry.

At four o'clock, Alona comes up to the bridge to relieve him. "Enjoy the rest of your Saturday," she says, smiling.

When he gets to the staff house, he clocks out and looks around for Jensen. After a few minutes, Jensen comes down the stairs wearing a blue t-shirt and cargo shorts. "There's a bathroom upstairs for you to change in," says Jensen. "And I'm gonna take my car over to the service center lot if you want a ride."

"That'd be great," says Jared. He changes in the small bathroom and jogs downstairs.

Jensen is standing in the doorway of the break room, shotgunning a bottle of water. He pours what's left of it over his head and runs a hand through his hair, making it stand up in uneven spikes. Water drips down his face and soaks into his shirt, but Jensen doesn't seem to care. He tosses the bottle in the recycle bin and turns to Jared. "Goddamn desert building. It's like 90 degrees in there."

"Uh..." Jared can't think of a damn thing to say and he has no idea why. He looks past Jensen to the window in the break room. He can see the cocoa bean silos behind the factory. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah." Jensen pulls a set of keys out of one pocket and heads out the door. Jared follows him, hurrying to catch up.

"I'll drop you off at your truck if you tell me where it is," says Jensen as he slows to present his ID to the guard. Jared leads him through the rows and hops out. "Meet me at the gate," he adds as he drives off to the manager's lot. Apparently keepers are blue tags and interns are green tags, although they don't have to wear the physical nametags unless they're presenting to the public.

"So where to first?" Jensen asks after they sign in at the guard shack.

"Comet Hollow," Jared answers with no hesitation. "People who say the Comet is gay don't appreciate its historical value. It's the oldest coaster in the Park."

"And that's a good thing?"

Jared rolls his eyes. "They test it every day, it's perfectly safe. It's a great little coaster."

There's a small line at the Comet, but it only takes them about five minutes to go through it. "We're sitting in the very back," says Jared.

"Why?"

"You get a better ride that way on this type of coaster," Jared answers. "The back of the train feels faster than the front because the back has more g-force."

Jensen chuckles. "You're a coaster geek. Figures."

"What does that mean?" asks Jared as they buckle their seat belts.

Jensen shakes his head. "Nothing, never mind."

The Comet is just like Jared remembers it: creaky, bumpy, loud, and not that fast. Still, the old-fashioned coaster provides an exciting and fairly lengthy ride--the track is quite long for a wooden coaster, covering a lot of geographical area.

"See, that was pretty cool, right?" says Jared once they're back in the station.

"It was really bumpy," replies Jensen. "Kinda rattled my brain a little."

"It's a sixty-year-old wooden coaster, what do you expect?" Jared points at the SooperDooperLooper station. "Come on, time for another nostalgia trip."

There are five other people in line for the Looper. Jared can't help showing off more of his extensive Park knowledge. "This was the first looping coaster on the East Coast. It seems really dated now, but back in the day it was the shit."

"I'll have to take your word for that," says Jensen dryly.

Jared frowns. "Am I being too geeky?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Sorry." Jared climbs into the train. "It's just, all my friends work here too, so you're the only person I know who hasn't heard this stuff already."

The Looper ride isn't much faster than the Comet and, as usual, it feels like the train just barely makes it around the peak of the loop. It's pretty lame compared to the newer coasters, but Jared likes it for what it is.

"Man, I didn't think we'd get all the way around that loop," says Jensen, shaking his head. "Thought we were gonna fall right off the track."

Jared laughs. "That's part of its charm." He steers them toward the bridge to Minetown. "Come on, let's go ride a modern coaster."

"About time," Jensen replies, but he's smiling.

Jensen agrees with him that the Great Bear is "pretty awesome," and that the Sidewinder is "not really worth it." They go on Fahrenheit, the newest coaster, and Jensen absolutely loves it and insists they go again. Jared isn't crazy about it, but he goes anyway. After that Jared steers them to the Midway to ride the Wildcat and the Lightning Racer.

"More wooden ones?" asks Jensen, dismayed.

"These are much better than the Comet," Jared assures him. "They're a lot faster and the ride's smoother. You'll like them, I promise."

Jensen still looks skeptical, but he climbs aboard the Wildcat anyway. As they're approaching the top of the hill, Jared points out the Hotel across the road. Then he puts his hands up in classic thrillseeker fashion. Jensen shakes his head and the next thing Jared knows, he's grabbing Jensen's hand and holding it up. As they plunge down the massive first hill, Jared completely forgets that he's essentially holding Jensen's hand. He drops Jensen's hand as soon as they hit the bottom of the slope. He doesn't dare to look at Jensen the rest of the ride.

"You were right, that was _much_ better," says Jensen after they climb out of the train, as though nothing happened. "And it was about twice as fast. I think I want to do that one again."

"You go ahead," says Jared. "I'm gonna... go get some water."

Jensen frowns a little. "You all right?"

"Fine!" Jared answers a little too quickly. "Just, you know, thirsty."

"Okay," Jensen replies, but he doesn't look convinced. "See you in three minutes."

Jared gets a bottle of water from the popcorn stand and sits down on a bench to watch the coaster. He sees Jensen sitting in the front this time and he has to grin at Jensen taking some of his geekiness to heart. But the grin quickly falls off his face when his mind goes back to what just happened. Okay, so he did something stupid. Not the first time, certainly won't be the last. But why didn't Jensen react at all? Jensen should have yanked his hand away, or smacked him, or at least done _something_ to let Jared know that he was crossing the line.

But he didn't.

What does that mean?

Maybe Jensen's just a really good-natured guy who's not the least bit homophobic. Or maybe he's totally and completely oblivious and he didn't really notice.

Or maybe he was glad Jared did it.

That's the one Jared's having problems with.


	2. Chapter 2

 

A few days later, Jared runs into Jensen after clocking in for his opening shift. "Hey, you open tomorrow?" Jensen asks.

"No, I'm not on till 1:30," Jared answers. "Why?"

"I'm doing one of the public feedings tomorrow--the mountain lions." Jensen rubs a hand across the back of his neck. "And it'd be nice to have a friendly face in the crowd, you know?"

Jared nods. "I can do that."

Jensen smiles so brightly that Jared blushes a little. "Awesome, thanks." He raises the small cooler he's carrying. "I gotta run--the snakes get cranky when they don't get fed on time."

Jared takes a step back. "We certainly wouldn't want that," he says with a grin. "See you later."

The next day, Jared has to explain to everyone he meets why he's in the zoo early. Most of them easily accept his explanation, but Sam gives him a conspiratorial wink that he doesn't really understand. The mountain lion pen is on the far side of the zoo, across the bridge and at the top of the hill. It's quite small compared to the lynx pen, especially considering that it houses three animals as opposed to one. He hears someone whistle and turns to see Jensen walking up the hill with two large coolers. "You need help?" Jared calls.

"Nah, I got it," Jensen replies.

A couple of children spot Jensen and run over to him. "Are you feeding the animals?" asks the older one, a ginger-haired girl about eight years old.

"Yes, I'll be feeding the mountain lions," answers Jensen. "And you can watch."

The kids squeal with excitement. Their mother rushes over with a double stroller and apologizes to Jensen. "It's okay," says Jensen. "I was just telling them to find a good spot to watch the mountain lions eat breakfast."

The mother grabs her oldest daughter's hand. "Come along now, leave the nice zookeeper alone."

Jensen disappears behind the pen and re-emerges behind the fence. He sets the two coolers down on the side. One of the cats jumps down from the rock ledge and sniffs the coolers, then lets out a high-pitched yowl. The other cats appear from behind the rock formation. There's a small crowd gathered around, mostly young children and parents. Jared hangs behind them and catches Jensen's eye to give him an encouraging smile. Jensen smiles back and opens one of the coolers. The cats move backwards as Jensen pulls out two large pieces of raw meat. He tosses the meat to the waiting animals and describes what mountain lions eat in the wild as opposed to what the keepers feed them.

Jensen reaches deep into one cooler and grabs two different-looking steaks. "This steak in my left hand is an elk steak." He tosses it to the smallest cat and addresses the crowd in a hushed voice. "Don't tell the guys next door, okay?" He points to the elk exhibit on the right and the children laugh. He holds up the other steak. "This steak is a regular steak like you would order at a restaurant." One of the cats paws at the ground and Jensen sets the steak in front of him. The cat picks it up in its jaws and carries it off. "Mountain lions like to hide food away for later. That's why we give them more in the morning than in the evening. We feed them between five and seven pounds of raw meat a day."

Jensen disperses the rest of the meat throughout the pen and closes the coolers. "Does anybody know what other names mountain lions are sometimes called?"

"Cougars!" shouts an older boy.

"That's right!" replies Jensen. He's good with the kids, talking to them rather than at them. "There's one more name. It starts with a P. Any guesses?"

After a few moments, a father calls it out. "Puma."

"Yes, that's it," says Jensen.

"What are their names?" asks a young girl, pointing at the pen.

Jensen smiles and indicates the cat closest to him. "This male here is Rufus, the male in the corner is Alistair, and this girl--" He points to the smallest cat in the middle. "--is Hermione."

"Like in _Harry Potter_?" says the ginger-haired girl from earlier.

"Yes, she is named after the _Harry Potter_ character," Jensen confirms. "She was named by the workers at the wildlife rescue we got her from." He picks up the coolers. "That's all for today. Enjoy the rest of your visit."

The small crowd scatters, most of them heading east toward the bison. He can hear the children chattering eagerly about the display. He waits until Jensen reappears from the keeper's entrance.

"You're really good at talking to the kids," Jared tells him. "They were really interested. I could tell."

Jensen's cheeks color slightly and he ducks his head, but Jared can tell he's smiling. "Thanks."

"What are you doing after this?" asks Jared.

"My break's at noon," Jensen replies. "We could go get real food."

Jared grins. "Works for me."

"I've got stuff to do in the vet building, so I'll meet you in the shop after I clock out."

"Cool." Jared turns toward the staff house. "See you later."

When Jensen comes into the shop just after twelve, the first thing Jared sees is the gauze wrapped around his wrist. "What happened?" he asks, pointing to it.

Jensen rolls his eyes. "We've got a hawk in quarantine and she's pretty vicious. Took a chunk out of my arm."

"Ouch." Jared winces in sympathy.

"It's not so bad," says Jensen. "So, where are we going?"

"You wanna go to Red Robin?"

"Sure." Jensen smiles and pulls open the heavy main door. He gestures for Jared to go first.

"Dude, I'm not your girlfriend," Jared says lightly. "I can open my own doors."

Jensen shrugs. "You driving?"

"You don't have your car here?" Jared walks up the stairs to the parking lot, Jensen trailing behind him.

"It's not my car--my roommate and I share his." Jensen buckles his seat belt. "He works here too, so we carpool most days. He's closing, so the car's over at the service center."

"Where does he work?"

"Security." Jensen chuckles. "He _hates_ bag check. He pulls that about twice a week."

"Yeah, that would suck." Jared parks the truck and follows Jensen into the restaurant.

"So how do you like the job so far?" asks Jared once they've ordered. Jensen smiles; Jared tries not to notice the way Jensen smiles with his whole face and how gorgeous that smile really is. He's never paid attention to another guy's appearance before and he has no idea why he's so hung up on Jensen's.

"It's great, I love it," says Jensen. "It's cool to get real hands-on experience with all the animals. A lot of what I do is record-keeping--water temps and medication schedules and stuff like that--but I don't mind it."

"That's awesome." Jared grins. "You think you'd come back if they offered you a keeper job?"

"I don't know," Jensen replies. "I mean, I'd love to come back to work with the animals, but the keeper jobs are permanent part-time and I'm pretty sure I'd need a full-time job."

"I didn't know the keepers were considered part-time," says Jared. "That doesn't seem fair."

"It's _not_ fair, but Park management won't upgrade their jobs because then they'd have to give them benefits."

"So how do the keepers now live on just part-time wages?"

"They're all married," answers Jensen. "And that's not really an option for me."

Jared raises an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because I'm gay, Jared."

Jared's eyes widen. "Oh."

Jensen frowns. "Is that a problem?" he asks roughly.

"No, of course not!" Jared picks up his spoon and twirls it. "It's just... unexpected, that's all."

This time, Jensen's eyes widen. "You mean you're not--you weren't--_shit_." Jensen slides out of the booth.

"No, wait!" Jared reaches out to grab Jensen's hand, but then he remembers Jensen's injury and hooks a belt loop instead. "We can talk about this. Sit down."

Jensen sighs and goes back to his seat. "I don't think I want to talk about it."

"Okay, then we don't have to." Jared smiles cautiously. "We'll just forget about it. No harm, no foul. Deal?"

Jensen nods. "Deal."

 

Memorial Day weekend starts out crazy and only gets worse. By the time Jared's shift is over Sunday he understands the old joke that "tourist season should mean we can shoot them." The guests are clueless, obnoxious, and whiny.

"It's too hot."

"The animals were all asleep."

"We didn't see the [whatever animal]."

"I don't want a stamp on my hand."

To make things worse, Jared spends most of Saturday on the bridge with Julie, who's at least confident enough to rattle off the standard spiel to all comers but is still terrible with questions. Jared breathes a huge sigh of relief when he sees that Julie isn't scheduled the rest of the weekend.

Sunday Jared pulls desk duty in the morning and doesn't have to go to the bridge until one o'clock, where he's assigned to work with a minor named Gabe who is actually pretty cool for a fifteen-year-old. It's his second year at the Park and he's a refugee from Retail, which he quit because all his bosses were crazy. After hearing all the stories, one of which involved a three-foot-tall stuffed Santa catching fire, Jared has to admit that he would have jumped ship too.

"It's so much better over here," says Gabe. "None of the supervisors treat me like I'm stupid just because I have a line on my nametag."

Alona comes up to the bridge to relieve Jared at four. "You're coming tonight, right?"

"Definitely," says Jared. "Wouldn't miss it."

She smiles. "Cool. See you later."

Jared clocks out at the arcade and heads to his truck. He rolls all the windows down and speeds home. He spends the rest of his afternoon playing _Guitar Hero_ in his air-conditioned bedroom.

His cell phone rings as he's walking out the door to go to Pizza Hut. He checks the display and is surprised to see the office number. "Hello?"

"Hey, have you left yet?" asks Jensen.

"No, why?"

"Can you come pick me up? My roommate needs the car tonight and I'm the last person here who's going."

"Sure, no problem." Jared checks his watch. They'll hardly even be late.

"I'll be at the service center."

"Okay, I'll pick you up in twenty."

"Thanks," says Jensen, and Jared can almost hear the smile. "I owe you one."

"Dude, I was going that way anyway. It's a five-minute detour." Jared starts his truck and rolls the windows down. "See you in a few minutes." He snaps his phone shut and puts it back in his pocket.

When they get to Pizza Hut, they can see the group sitting at a cluster of tables by the back windows. They walk inside and are greeted with a chorus of shouts. Their coworkers are sitting at four tables pushed together into one long line. The only seats left are right next to each other. Jensen grins at him and takes the seat next to Gabe, forcing Jared to sit next to Dustin. He notices that Katie is sitting at the very end of the table as far away from Dustin as she can possibly get so he can't molest her and she can't strangle him.

Alona and one of the other interns--Jared never caught her name--take notes on what pizza topping and soda preferences everyone has and write down the order for the poor waitresses who are stuck with their table all night. As the waitresses go off to collect the four pitchers of soda that were ordered, Alona stands up.

"All right, listen up!" she yells. "We have a bunch of newbies with us tonight, so this is a good time to go over the ground rules." Jared's eyebrows climb to his hairline. _Ground rules_? He's insulted at first, until he realizes that he's surrounded by minors and ground rules actually aren't a bad idea. "First: everyone must do at least one sugar shot. Anyone who refuses to do a sugar shot has to chug a whole suicide. Second: no throwing food, napkins, straws, or silverware. Third: if you want to do caterpillar races, save at least one napkin to clean up. And fourth: try to keep it to a dull roar. We're not the only people here." She grins and curtseys. "As you were."

Dustin turns to Chad, the green tag from the cafe. "What are sugar shots?"

"We have a question!" calls Chad, pointing to Dustin. "This young man wants to know what sugar shots are."

A.J. and Travis, the oldest white tags in Foods, exchange mischievous grins and jump up. "Let us demonstrate." A.J. grabs two sugar packets from the table and hands one to Travis. "First, you pinch the top of the wrapper like so."

"Then, you remove the top of the wrapper," continues Travis, ripping the packet open. A.J. does the same with his.

"And now, step three." The boys "clink" sugar packets in a mock toast and then proceed to drink the contents like a shot.

Dustin and Tristan break into huge grins and lunge for the bowl of sugar packets, but Chad snatches it up before they get to it. "Patience, grasshoppers. All in good time."

Jared turns to talk to Jensen, but out of the corner of his eye he sees someone walk up to them. He looks up to see Sandy leaning on the table between them. She's wearing a striped polo shirt with all but one button undone and he gets a real good look at her cleavage. He forces his eyes upwards. "Hey, Sandy."

"You made it!" she says, straightening up. "I'm so glad. I thought you weren't coming."

"No, just had to make a slight detour," replies Jared. "Sorry I haven't seen you around, it's been so crazy this weekend that I've been taking my fifteens in the office."

"I figured it was something like that." She whispers in his ear. "I missed you. A lot."

Jared swallows hard. He's saved by the arrival of the waitresses, who starts handing out glasses and straws. Sandy slinks off back to her end of the table.

Jared reaches for the pitcher of Mountain Dew and catches a glimpse of Jensen out of the corner of his eye. Jensen's eyes are dark and his jaw is clenched tight. Jared pours himself a glass of soda and leans over. "What's wrong?" he says, low enough for only Jensen to hear.

"Nothing," Jensen answers.

Someone starts tapping a spoon on a glass and soon half the table has joined in. "All right!" shouts Alona. "Pass the sugar." The sugar bowls circulate around the table. Once everyone is in possession of at least one sugar packet, Alona holds up a hand. "Three, two, one, go!"

Jared eagerly swallows the sugar, chasing it with Mountain Dew. He hears Jensen laugh and looks over. Jensen shakes his head. "You're as bad as the kids."

Throughout the course of the night, Jared drinks six glasses of Mountain Dew and does four more sugar shots. He and Gabe are talking a mile a minute about their worst bosses when the waitresses come to inform them that they will be closing in half an hour and they'd appreciate it if the group could leave so they can start cleaning up. Alona calculates how much each person owes and they all pay up, then one by one they drift out to the parking lot.

"So I guess I'm driving you home," Jared says to Jensen as they walk to Jared's truck. "But I don't know where you live and I hope it's not too far because I don't have very much gas in my truck and I don't like the gas at Sheetz so I try not to get it if I don't have to so it would be good if you live in Palmyra or Campbelltown or--" Jared is abruptly cut off when Jensen grabs him by the shoulders and kisses him.

Jared freezes for a second, then relaxes into the kiss. He feels Jensen's tongue tentatively brush the tip of his and smiles, returning the hesitant touch with a stronger one. When Jensen pulls away, parting their lips with a soft _snick_, Jared wraps his arms around Jensen and brings their lips back together. This time Jared takes the initiative, boldly deepening the kiss by thrusting his tongue into Jensen's mouth. Jensen moans a little and tangles his fingers in Jared's hair. After they finally break apart, Jensen grins. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

Jared struggles to come up with a response, but his brain has effectively deserted him. All he manages to say is, "Wow."

Jensen laughs softly. "That good, huh?"

"Does this mean we're--like--a thing?"

"Was that even English?" Jensen teases. "I like you, Jared." He takes a step closer. "I _really_ like you."

"I like you too," whispers Jared. "But I'm not--I mean, I've never... done this before."

"We can take it slow," says Jensen. He smiles. "I won't even invite you into my apartment when you drop me off."

Jared had completely forgotten about that. He motions to his truck, now the only vehicle left in the lot. "We should probably get going."

Jensen nods. "Yeah, you're right." They climb into the truck and Jensen gives him the address of his apartment. Luckily, it's right in town and Jared knows where it is.

"Would it be totally dorky for me to walk you to your door?" asks Jared as he parks outside the apartment.

"Yes," replies Jensen, but he's smiling. "But you can do it anyway."

It's not far to the door and Jared wishes that the walk could last longer because he really doesn't want the night to be over. Jensen seems to feel the same way, because he stops in front of the door and sighs. "You working tomorrow?"

"One to eight," Jared answers. "You?"

"Eight-thirty to three, and I have the twelve-thirty encounter." Jensen frowns. "I probably won't even see you."

"That sucks," says Jared. "What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"My roommate wants me to go to a party with him." Jared smiles hopefully, but before he can say anything Jensen adds, "It's at a bar. They card at the door."

"Oh." Jared's shoulders slump. "What days are you off?"

"Wednesday and Thursday."

Jared brightens. "I'm off Wednesday, too! Here, give me your phone." Jensen does, and Jared puts his number into Jensen's phone. "Call me and we'll hang out."

Jensen grins. "Can't wait." He moves to take his phone from Jared's hand, but instead grabs Jared's wrist and pulls him in for a kiss. Jared isn't sure how long they stand there, but eventually the light above their heads bursts into life and the door opens.

"Please tell me he's not jailbait."

Jared looks up to see a burly guy with shoulder-length hair scowling in the doorway. He jumps back from Jensen, nearly dropping Jensen's phone. "He's eighteen," replies Jensen.

"Good." The door slams shut.

Jensen takes his phone. "Don't mind Chris. His bark is worse than his bite." He gestures at the door. "I guess I should--"

"Yeah." Jared takes a step back. "Call me."

Jensen grins. "I will. Drive safe."

"Always," Jared promises. He takes another step back, off the stoop, but doesn't take his eyes off Jensen. Jensen pushes open the door and steps inside, smiling at Jared as he closes it.

Jared doesn't remember a thing about the drive home.

 

Wednesday morning Jared opens his curtains to find a layer of fog so thick he can barely see his truck parked on the street. He pulls up the weather forecast and learns that it's supposed to rain all day. Great. If it's going to be this crappy, he might as well be at work.

When Jensen calls him at one, there's a light but steady rain pounding the windows. "This weather sucks," he says.

"Yeah, tell me about it," replies Jared. "Guess we'll have to find something to do indoors."

"I can think of a few things," Jensen says in a seductively low voice.

Jared laughs. "Maybe later, okay? I was thinking we could go to Chocolate World."

"What is that?" asks Jensen, sounding a little dismayed.

"It's the visitor's center for the chocolate factory," answers Jared. "They have a simulated factory ride and a trolley tour of the town. Since you're spending the whole summer here, you might as well learn a little about the town."

Jensen chuckles. "So, you're trying to disguise a date as an educational trip? Your geekery knows no bounds, Jay."

Jared breaks into a huge grin at the nickname. "Admit it--you love my geekery."

"I do," says Jensen with a theatrical sigh. "I shudder to think what that says about me."

"Oh, shut up," replies Jared, but he's still smiling. "When should I pick you up?"

"Whenever you want, I'm good to go."

"I can be there in twenty minutes."

"I'll be counting the seconds," says Jensen in a high, girly voice. "One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three..."

"I'm hanging up now," Jared informs him. "This is me hanging up on you." He snaps his phone shut and heads out the door.

Jensen's apartment doesn't have a bell or buzzer, so Jared has to pound on the door. A few seconds later, Jensen opens it and Jared breathes a small sigh of relief that he isn't Chris. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Jensen smiles and leans against the doorframe and it's all Jared can do not to just _jump_ him. He settles for grabbing him by the collar, yanking him over the threshold and kissing him like there's no tomorrow.

Jensen pulls away after not nearly enough time. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"No, I'm trying to kiss you," Jared replies, eyes wide in feigned innocence.

Jensen shakes his head. "You keep doing _that_ and we're gonna get arrested for public indecency."

"Oh, fine," sighs Jared. He gives Jensen a peck on the cheek and steps back. "Come on, let's go."

"I have a better idea," says Jensen. "How about you come inside, we watch a couple of movies and I thoroughly corrupt your poor, up-till-now-heterosexual mind?"

Jared laughs. "Don't get me wrong, I think it's a fantastic idea, but shouldn't we at least attempt a real date before we jump into bed together?"

"We've already had two dates," replies Jensen. "The Park and Pizza Hut."

"Neither of those were actual dates," Jared points out.

"But if we _count_ them as dates, then you can get your ass in here without coming off as easier than a cheerleader on prom night."

Jared grins. "I can accept that."

Jensen steps aside and Jared walks into the apartment and takes a seat on the battered plaid couch. "Did the furniture come with the apartment?" asks Jared

"Yeah." Jensen motions at a wire shelf of DVDs. "Pick whatever movie you want. We couldn't bring too many, so it's mostly ones Chris and I agree on." Jared picks out a Kevin Smith movie he hasn't seen yet and hands it to Jensen. "You want something to drink? There's soda in the fridge, help yourself."

Jared opens the avocado-green fridge and gapes at the bottom shelf, which is nothing but cans and bottles of beer. "Jesus, how much beer do you guys drink?"

"Some of Chris's work friends had a party and they gave us the extras," Jensen calls back. "That'll probably last us the whole summer."

Jared grabs a can of soda and sits down next to Jensen on the couch. Halfway through the movie, Jensen actually resorts to the old yawn-and-stretch trick to put his arm around Jared's shoulders. Jared snickers. "I can't believe you just did that."

"Hey, it's a classic move for a reason," replies Jensen. "It's tried and true."

"And which one of us is the geek, again?" Jared teases.

"Shut up."

"_You_ shut me up," counters Jared. Jensen grins and moves in for the kiss. Jared waits a few seconds for Jensen to get distracted, then pounces on him and forces him down on his back, all without breaking the kiss. He feels Jensen smile before he draws back.

"This couch sucks. Let's go to my room."

"Lead the way," replies Jared, grinning. Jensen takes his hand and pulls him down a short hallway to a dark room.

Jensen flips a switch and the room is bathed in the subtle glow of colored porch lights. "I swear, it came like this."

"I like it," says Jared.

Jensen smiles. "Cool." He lightly tugs Jared's arm and guides him to the bed.

Jared perches on the end of the bed. "Just so you know, I've never--I don't--"

"Don't worry about it," murmurs Jensen. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"No, I want to." Jared fidgets. "I just don't really... know how."

Jensen smiles softly. "You'll figure it out." He traces Jared's jawline with one finger. "Just relax." He grasps the back of Jared's neck and pulls him close. "Do you trust me?" he whispers, his lips brushing over Jared's.

"Of course," Jared whispers back.

"Good." Jensen presses his lips to Jared's and slowly rearranges their positions so that Jared's head rests on the pillow. Kissing Jensen is different than kissing a girl for more than just the obvious reasons. Jensen is confident and sure, thrusting his tongue past Jared's lips and exploring every inch of Jared's mouth like he expects some kind of quiz later. Jensen's hands on his body are gentle but strong and slightly rough from the physical demands of his job.

Jensen subtly nudges and tugs and before Jared knows what's happening, his shirt is pulled free and tossed onto the floor. Jensen flutters light kisses down Jared's neck to his collarbone and then to the swell of his chest. He takes one nipple between his lips and teases it into hardness, then bites sharply with no warning at all. Jared gasps and Jensen backs off, grinning wickedly. As he flicks his tongue over the sensitive bud, he unfastens Jared's shorts and slowly removes those as well.

"You're a little overdressed, aren't you?" mutters Jared as Jensen kisses a trail across Jared's chest to the other nipple.

"All in good time," Jensen whispers. The hot air over his hypersensitized skin makes Jared's cock wake up and join the party. Jared grabs Jensen's hand and makes Jensen aware of the new development, then goes for the hem of Jensen's shirt. Jensen slips out of his shirt with such easy grace that Jared's nostrils flare with jealousy, which he channels into a bruising kiss-bite to Jensen's collarbone. Jensen lets out a low, sharp growl and it goes straight to Jared's cock. Jared pulls Jensen close and grinds their cocks together. Jensen growls again and moves away to shuck his shorts and open the drawer of the bedside table. He takes out a small bottle of lube and a wrapped condom. Jared's eyes widen. This is really happening. His heart is pounding a mile and minute and his stomach is fluttering wildly.

_This is really happening._


	3. It's All Happening at the Zoo 3/5

 

Jared is just clocking out when he hears the door open. He turns around to see Jensen storming into the staff house. His shirt is streaked with mud, his hair is mussed, his green eyes are dark and flashing with anger, and Jared has never seen anything so hot in his _life_.

"Goddamn fucking falcon," Jensen mutters, and that's all he gets out before Jared grabs him by the shirt and yanks him forward for a kiss. Jensen gives in for only a second before pulling away. "Not here," he breathes, taking hold of Jared's wrist and half-dragging him up the stairs. When they get to the top, he shoves Jared into the bedroom and slams the door shut.

"God you look hot," whispers Jared.

"I've got ten minutes," replies Jensen. He grasps the bottom of Jared's shirt and yanks it over his head, then pulls down Jared's shorts and shoves Jared down on the single bed.

Jared unbuckles Jensen's belt and tosses it aside, then undoes Jensen's zipper and frees his half-hard cock. Jensen kisses a trail down Jared's neck to the junction of his shoulder, where he sucks in the delicate skin and bites down hard enough to leave a mark. Jared grunts and squeezes the base of Jensen's cock in response, which brings both him and Jensen to full hardness. Jensen shoves a hand under Jared's waistband and Jared slides his hand up under Jensen's shirt. After Jensen releases Jared's stiff, leaking cock from his boxers, Jared brushes Jensen aside and fists both their cocks in his own massive hand.

Jensen moans and nuzzles against Jared's neck as Jared jacks both their dicks with a strong, sure grip. Jensen thrusts his hips and digs his teeth into Jared's shoulder, which just makes Jared go faster. "Fuck, yeah," Jensen gasps. "Just like that."

Jared moves his free hand to Jensen's chest and tweaks an already-hard nipple. Jensen groans deep in his throat and Jared can feel the vibration on his collarbone. Next thing he knows, he's coming all over his bare chest. Jensen rolls off so he doesn't stain his uniform further. Jared fishes around for his discarded t-shirt and wipes himself off. Then he straddles Jensen and wraps his lips around Jensen's thick, heated cock. He flicks his tongue over the slit and Jensen gasps and bucks his hips. Jared licks a trail around the sensitive ridge and then takes as much of Jensen's length as he can into his mouth. He lets Jensen set the pace, then after a minute or so he slips a finger behind Jensen's balls. Jensen thrusts hard into the back of Jared's throat and comes a moment later. Jared hadn't planned on swallowing, but he's not left with much choice, so he chokes it down and releases Jensen's cock.

Jared collapses on Jensen's chest and throws one arm over him. "You're amazing," he breathes, not caring that he sounds like a girl.

"So are you," replies Jensen. He raises his arm and looks at his watch. "Four minutes."

"I wish you didn't have to go back to work."

"I know." Jensen kisses Jared's forehead. "But I have to pimp the zoo to a bunch of screaming rugrats."

"You love kids and you know it."

"Whatever." Jensen nudges Jared's chin with his shoulder so he can kiss him properly. "Why don't you come back after close? We can go on the Kissing Tower and traumatize the Mennonites."

Jared presses his lips to Jensen's jaw, careful not to exert enough pressure to leave a mark. "Sounds like a plan."

Jensen gets up and fixes his uniform as best he can. "I think I'm gonna see if they'll let me go to Wardrobe and get a new shirt before I go to Midway." He tosses Jared his abandoned clothes. "Wait ten minutes and then leave. And try not to look like you just had sex."

Jared mock-salutes. "Yes, sir."

Jensen smirks. "I could get used to that." He ruffles Jared's hair. "See you later."

Jared changes back into his uniform and goes into the bathroom to make sure he doesn't look too debauched. He washes his hands and face and straightens his shirt, then goes downstairs to the break room and buys a soda.

"What are you still doing here?" asks Julie. Jared starts; he hadn't realized anyone else was around.

"Oh, uh... I was talking to Sam, before," he lies. "And I wanted to get a drink before I went back out in the heat."

She nods. "You better get out of here before Kripke ropes you into an extra shift."

Jared laughs. "Okay, see you tomorrow."

When he gets home, his mother is sitting in the living room. "How was work?" she asks.

"Pretty good," he replies, waiting until he's on the stairs to break into a huge grin.

 

By the time Independence Day rolls around, all the new employees have pretty much settled into their basic routines. Jared can't believe how well all the employees at the zoo, from the orange tags in Foods up to the blue tags and interns, get along with one another. Gabe said that he and the orange tags from Foods and Retail went through the Park together after closing a couple of times, and Alona mentioned a girls-only trip to Hooters.

When Alona comes to the bridge to relieve Julie, she asks them if they have plans for the night.

"No, why?" says Jared.

"We always go up on the hill and watch the fireworks together," Alona answers. "We usually bring sodas and snacks and stuff and sit on blankets. You in?"

"Definitely," replies Jared. "I think I open that day, should I just meet you guys here at closing?"

"Yeah, we usually carpool over. You have a truck, right? You think you could fit a few people in the back?"

"Sure," Jared replies. "No problem."

Alona grins. "Awesome!" She turns to Julie. "What about you?"

Julie shakes her head. "My parents and I go to City Island for theirs."

"Okay." Alona takes the hand counter from Julie. "Send Tom up in an hour." Julie nods and goes down to the shop.

When Jared's shift ends, he goes down to the cafe to grab a snack before Jensen's performance. He's doing the 5:30 reptile show on the patio. It's not really a big production, just him talking about a couple of snakes, a turtle, and two of the smaller lizards.

Tristan and Jensen's admirer Danneel are at the counter, which is a relief for Jared because Sandy will not stop hitting on him. He told her he was involved with someone and she backed off some, but she seems determined to have him one way or another. It's a little scary.

Jared gets a pretzel and a soda and sits down at the table closest to the deer. Sirloin, the buck, is lying down in the tall grass with the younger doe, Fillet, and Venison is drinking out of the trough. Jim walks by, carrying a net on a long pole that Jared's not sure he wants to know the purpose of, and Jared waves to him.

After he finishes his pretzel, he heads down to feed the ducks, just for something to do. There's a stroller parked on the platform; a tow-headed toddler takes the corn from his father's hand in his chubby little fingers and flings it into the creek. The female ducks paddle around and leisurely pick up the kernels as they drift on the current. Jared gets a handful of corn from the machine and goes to the opposite side of the bridge, where two mallards are flapping around the tiny waterfall. He tosses the corn into the water and watches the mallards splash after it.

He hears a motor and turns to see Jensen and another intern, Lauren, on a Cushman cart loaded with cages and carriers. They're deep in conversation, so Jensen doesn't notice him. Jared waits a few minutes and then follows the cart's path to the patio. The cages and carriers are lined up on the side of the wooden patio.

Jared steps onto the patio. "Hey."

Jensen looks up and smiles that brilliant, blinding smile. "I thought you left."

"Well, you know, I thought I'd stick around and watch you embarrass yourself," Jared teases.

"I don't know, you think you can handle seeing all those big, scary snakes?" replies Jensen.

"I'll try to play it cool."

Jensen laughs. "You'll just be screaming like a girl on the inside, then?"

"Exactly." Jared grins. "Oh, hey, did they tell you about the fireworks?"

"No. What about them?"

"Apparently everybody goes as a group to the top of the hill across the street to watch the fireworks after closing," says Jared. "I already told Alona I'd take some people in my truck."

"Then I guess I'm going," replies Jensen with a grin. "I do get shotgun, right?"

Jared smirks. "Only if you put out."

Instead of laughing or sassing back, Jensen looks around frantically. "Jesus, keep it down."

"What? There's no guests around," says Jared, frowning.

Jensen relaxes a little. "You can't say stuff like that when families could be walking by."

"You're right," says Jared. He hadn't thought about that, but Jensen has a point--if someone complains to Kripke, he could write them up, and that wouldn't look good for Jensen at all. "Sorry."

Jensen smiles, but it's only a shadow of his regular thousand-watt smile. "It's okay. Just think next time, okay?"

"Sure." Jared checks his watch. It's 5:15, the patio will be filling up soon. "So, that's a yes on the fireworks, right?"

"Of course," answers Jensen, smiling a little wider.

That night after closing, Jared ends up driving Dustin, Tristan, Gabe, and Chad along with Jensen over to the hill in front of the hotel. They have to park at the Gardens and walk over, but none of them mind. Jared brings his Penn State blanket for him and Jensen to sit on.

"Hey, you made it!" says Tom when they join the group. Jared grins and spreads his blanket out next to the one occupied by Tom and a cute brunette whom Tom introduces as his girlfriend Jamie. On his other side, Alona, Danneel, Sandy and Katie are sprawled out on a plaid wool blanket painting each other's toenails and giggling over an issue of _Cosmopolitan_. Dustin immediately heads for the girls but Chad cuts him off and sends him further down the hill with Tristan and Gabe and a couple of bags of chips. Michael's stretched out on a blanket behind Tom with one of the volunteers; between his blanket and Tom's is a big blue cooler and some more snacks--popcorn, tortilla chips, and pretzels. "Help yourself to whatever. There's soda and water in the cooler."

"Good, I'm starving," says Jensen, grabbing the bag of popcorn. "Doing the 5:30 show totally fucks up my schedule."

"Aww, poor baby," says Jared, pulling a couple of cans of Coke out of the cooler. "You have such a tough life."

Jensen flips him off and rips open the bag of popcorn. Jared sits down beside him and grabs a handful of popcorn for himself. He can hear the girls snickering about an article entitled "First-Time-Sex Bloopers" (apparently, it is possible to be so small that the girl doesn't even know he's in her) and he can hear the volunteer--Alexis, he thinks her name is--giggling in a high, breathy voice. Jared doesn't think he wants to know what Michael is saying (or more likely doing) to prompt that kind of response.

"You work tomorrow?" asks Jensen.

"1:30 to close," Jared answers. "You?"

"8:30 to 4:00." Jensen gestures for Jared to open his mouth and tosses a piece of popcorn into it. Jared laughs. "I feed the otters at 11:00, if you wanted to come by a little early. You could grab us lunch from Minetown and we can eat in the staff house." Jensen arcs another kernel into Jared's mouth. "That is, if you're not busy."

"It's Sunday morning. What would I be doing?" Jared lobs a piece of popcorn to Jensen. "Going to confession to save my poor corrupted soul? I think it's a little late for that."

Jensen grins. "I hope you're not trying to insinuate that I had a hand in that."

"That's what he said," Jared replies with a smirk.

Jensen sighs and rolls his eyes. "You are such a bad influence."

"Me? I'm not the one with the dirty mind," Jared protests.

"So it wasn't you who jumped me in the staff house two weeks ago?" Jensen raises an eyebrow. "Sure looked like you. You must have an evil twin."

"You weren't complaining then," retorts Jared.

"We weren't in public then."

Jared narrows his eyes. "Dude, these are our friends. They're not gonna care."

"You don't know that." Jensen sits up, a serious look on his face. "I don't know about you, but I don't want the last six weeks to be awkward and weird."

Jared frowns. "I don't care what people think. I'm happy and I don't want to have to hide how I feel about you."

"You don't know what it's like," argues Jensen. "Sometimes the people you think will be the most supportive turn out to be the biggest assholes."

"So what, I'm your dirty little secret?" Jared scowls and crosses his arms. "You gotta keep up that All-American boy image. Because no one would respect you if they found out you take it up the ass, right?"

Jensen narrows his eyes. "This is neither the time nor the place for this conversation," he says in a perfectly even undertone.

Jared stands up. "Well, let me know when it is." He starts walking toward the Gardens.

"Jared, wait!" Jensen hurries after him. Jared doesn't stop until he's sure they're out of the group's earshot.

"What?" Jared's voice is flat, his face expressionless.

"Please don't run away," says Jensen quietly. "We can talk about this. Not here, not now, but I promise we _will_ work this out."

"There's nothing to work out," Jared replies. "You're ashamed of this. Of _me_. And I can't be with someone who feels that way." He takes a step backwards. "Find your own ride home." He turns around and starts for the parking lot. Jensen calls after him weakly but Jared keeps going.

Jared climbs into his truck and rests his head on the steering wheel. "Fuck."


	4. It's All Happening at the Zoo 4/5

 

Two days later, Jared goes to the cafe and finds Sandy wiping down tables on the patio. Her eyes light up when she notices him. "Hey, Jared. How's it going?"

"You want to go out with me next time you have a night off?" he says, rushing the words a little in an attempt to shore up his nerves.

She grins so wide it looks painful. "I thought you'd never ask. I'm off Thursday and Friday."

"I open on Friday, so I can pick you up at six?"

"That's perfect." She leans over to right a salt shaker and her boobs brush his arm in what he's sure is an intentional move on her part. "I can't wait."

Jared smiles. "Then it's a date."

Friday evening, he finds himself on Sandy's porch, palms sweating as he waits for her to open the door. He's never really taken a girl on a date before--he's been out with girls, but it was always in a group or as friends.

When she finally appears, she's wearing what has to be the most low-cut shirt she owns and a tight black skirt that shows off her perfectly tanned legs. "Wow," Jared murmurs, eyes wide. "You look amazing."

She smiles. "Thanks. Ready to go?"

"Sure." He steps aside to let her pass, then hurries to the truck to open the door for her. She frowns and climbs into the passenger seat with some difficulty.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"Houlihan's, if that's all right with you," he says a little hesitantly.

"That sounds nice." She glances at his open window. "Can you put on the air conditioning?"

Jared shakes his head. "Sorry, the air conditioning doesn't work."

"It doesn't?" She looks like he just told her she has to walk to the restaurant and reluctantly rolls down her window. "Now my hair's gonna get all messed up."

"I'm sorry," he says again.

She doesn't say much on the ride downtown. Instead, she stares straight out the window and pushes her hair away from her face. He turns the radio up and tries to think of some way to make it up to her.

"Do you want to sit on the deck?" he asks as he helps her out of the truck.

She shakes her head. "No, it's too hot."

"Okay." He opens the door of the restaurant for her and she walks past him without another word.

Dinner is pretty much a disaster. He asks her questions about herself to try and get her to talk but she gives mostly one-word answers. She complains that her chicken is overcooked and the asparagus is stringy. By the time the check comes, Jared figures she'll never want to talk to him again. Which, quite frankly, he's fine with, because this whole night has just reinforced the fact that Jensen is the only person Jared wants to date.

After he drops Sandy off at her house, he picks up his phone and scrolls up Jensen's number. He stares at it for a few seconds, then closes the phone and puts it back. He feels like a jackass, but he just doesn't think he can handle any more drama tonight.

The next morning, Jared rounds the corner and sees Chris standing in the middle of the path, arms crossed and eyes blazing. Jared thought today couldn't possibly be worse than yesterday. Apparently, someone up there hates him.

"Whatever the hell you did to him, you better fix it. _Now_. He's completely fucking miserable and I can't take it anymore."

"But he's avoiding me!" Jared replies. "I haven't seen him since the Fourth."

"He does that." Chris pulls a slip of paper out of his pocket. "Here's his schedule. If you two aren't back together by Friday, I will _end_ you. Understand?"

Jared has absolutely no doubt that Chris is willing and able to do exactly that. "Yes."

"Good." Chris turns on a heel and stomps down the path to the gate.

Jared sighs. It's going to be a long week.

 

Jared steps off the end of the bridge and looks up at the rapidly darkening sky. The wind whips around his head, blowing his hair into his eyes. "Storm's coming," he says.

Gabe rolls his eyes. "Again? That's the third one this week."

The phone rings and Gabe grabs it. A few minutes later, he hangs it up. "She said there's a tornado watch in effect and she'll bring us down if it gets upgraded to a warning."

Jared's eyes widen. "Holy crap." He moves a few feet to the side and tries to look past the arcade into the eastern sky, but he can't see beyond the blue roof. The sky over the factory on the far side of the zoo is still dotted with blue.

A family with a double stroller walks up. "There's a tornado watch, so I'd stick close to the building if I were you," says Jared as he stamps their hands. They thank him and hurry across the bridge.

When it starts raining, Jared sees a number of guests bolt for the confines of the Minetown Restaurant. No one runs toward the bridge, for which Jared is grateful. He hates when the guests just hang out on the bridge to get out of the rain. It's so awkward.

"Crap," says Gabe. "We should have gone down before it started raining. We'll get soaked."

Jared shrugs. "Doesn't really bother me."

They end up taking down the chain and moving to the center of the bridge to avoid being splashed by raindrops. After about five minutes, the phone rings again and Jared reaches over Gabe's head to grab it. "Bridge, Jared speaking."

"Get down here _now_." Samantha's normally pleasant voice has a steel edge.

Jared gulps. "Sure." He hangs up the phone and turns to Gabe. "Race you to the shop."

They walk normally down to the halfway point of the bridge and take up ready positions. "One, two, three, go!" Jared shouts. He easily beats Gabe to the door, having almost a foot of height on the kid. The shop is crowded with guests waiting out the storm. Samantha motions for them to squeeze behind the counter.

The radio on the windowsill crackles to life. "Admissions, I want a head count of employees in the shop." Jared doesn't recognize the voice, but he figures it must be Kripke.

"Four from Guest Services, two from Retail, one from Security and one keeper," Samantha answers.

"Which keeper?"

"Jeff."

"Okay. Stay close to your radio."

Another radio squawks; it takes Jared a moment to realize it's Jeff's. "Jeff, when was the last time you saw Jensen?"

"About two hours ago, why?" Jared's head snaps up. Jeff's turned towards the zoo doors, but the rain and darkness make it impossible to see anything. Jared edges closer to Jeff.

"I've talked to every building and no one's seen him," replies Kripke.

"You want me to look for him?" asks Jeff.

Jared holds his breath until Kripke replies. "Security was very clear that _no one_ is to go outside until the all-clear signal is given." There's a short pause. "If he doesn't report in by quarter of, I'll call it in."

"Ten-four." Jeff lets go of the talk switch and Jared makes his way across the packed shop to him.

"What does he mean by 'call it in'?" asks Jared quietly.

"That means he'll report Jensen to Dispatch as a possibly injured missing person," Jeff answers. "Dispatch will most likely send a Security team and paramedics to look for him."

"Why does he think Jensen's hurt?"

"Because he's not responding to radio calls and no one's seen him since the rain started," replies Jeff. He gives Jared a half-hearted smile. "I know you two are close, but try not to worry too much. I'm sure he's fine."

Just then, there's a flash of lightning, a massive crash of thunder, and the shop is plunged into silent darkness. "Shit," mutters Jeff. "Power's out. Means it's gonna get damn hot in here if it lasts more than a few minutes, plus it's gonna be twice as tough to get through the doors."

"Everybody stay calm," calls Samantha over the general din in the small building. "Try to stay where you are. The power should return in a few minutes."

A different voice comes over both the radios. "Attention all supervisors, the Park is now closed. All yellow and orange tags should clock out immediately upon receiving the all-clear signal."

Jared inches back to the counter. "What's happening?" he whispers to Samantha.

"It's the wind," she replies softly. "They're reading triple-digit speeds in some places. There's debris everywhere and some of the elevated rides have been damaged. It's a mess out there."

Jared bites his lip. If Jensen's been outside this whole time... God, anything could have happened to him. He'll never forgive himself if what he said on the Fourth was the last thing he'll ever get to say to Jensen.

A bright flash of lightning followed by booming thunder causes a small child to scream. She's quickly hushed by a parent. The storm seems to be letting up a little, but not much. Jared glances nervously at the zoo doors. He still can't even see as far as the first building.

Another radio crackles to life; this time it's the guard's. "Kreider, what's your twenty?"

"Zoo Admissions," the guard replies.

"Can you open Gate Fourteen for Unit Three-Niner and direct them to the deer exhibit?"

"Ten-four." The guard moves out from behind the counter and taps Jeff's shoulder. "Can you help me with the front door?"

"Sure." Jeff and the guard, who doesn't look much older than Jared, force the recalcitrant door open. It doesn't sound like it's raining quite so hard anymore. The wind whips past them into the shop, cooling it slightly. By the time they get the door closed, the temperature inside the humid building has dropped considerably.

The phone rings. Samantha answers it and immediately frowns. "Are you sure that's--no, I understand, I just don't think--okay, I'll send him up." She hangs up the phone and reaches past Tom to tug on Jared's sleeve. "Clock out and go up to the deer exhibit."

"What's going on?"

"Jensen's asking for you."

Jared's heart jumps into his throat. He shoves his way to the zoo doors, not even noticing Jeff following behind him. It's not until he goes to open the doors that he realizes Jeff is there to help him. They manage to push the doors apart just enough for Jared to squeeze through. He can see lights down the hill--at the deer exhibit, he assumes--and he hurries as fast as the slick asphalt will allow.

When he gets to the scene, it takes him awhile to figure out where Jensen is. There's a lot of activity inside the pen, all taking place behind a huge tree trunk. It looks too big to have been brought down by the wind, though; it's about a foot wide. The only light is coming from two carts--the green zoo cart and the First Aid cart--and a few hand-held flashlights. Finally, Jared sees Jensen limping out of the pen with the help of a female paramedic. There's a gash on his forehead still bleeding, his left eye is swollen half-shut, and the leg he's favoring is covered in blood.

And yet, he's still the most gorgeous person Jared has ever seen.

He lets the paramedic get Jensen settled on the back of the First Aid cart. As she moves to pull her bag out of the front, she notices Jared just hanging back. "Hey, you. Think you could lend a hand for a few minutes?"

"Sure." Jared takes a step forward. The paramedic puts her bag down on the bumper and pulls out a thick gauze pad, which she presses to the cut on Jensen's temple.

"Hold this," she orders. Jared does as he's told.

Jensen looks up at him, his good eye tracking a bit sluggishly. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," says Jared, smiling softly.

"Didn't think you'd come." The words are slightly slurred, but Jared isn't sure whether it's from exhaustion or head injury. He hopes it's not the latter. "Thought y'were mad at me."

"I got over it," Jared replies truthfully.

The paramedic interrupts them to ask Jensen the standard head-injury questions and then to ask him how he hurt his ankle.

"I was runnin' down the hill an' I stepped wrong on a branch," Jensen answers.

"And that's how you fell and cut your knee?" she replies.

"Yup." Jensen winces and sucks in a sharp breath when she starts examining his injured ankle.

"Well, the good news is, I don't think anything's broken," she says. "Except maybe your common sense. The bad news is, I think you're going to need stitches for both those cuts and you need your head and ankle looked at by a doctor, so I think a trip to the emergency room is in order." She looks up at Jared. "You mind taking him in? Our ambulance is already on a call, and there's no sense waiting for Township EMS when the hospital's only five minutes down the road."

Jared nods. "I can do that." He's incredibly glad today was his day to get the bags because his truck is in the zoo lot. "My truck's parked down below, I can drive it up to the gate."

"Good." She pulls a roll of tape out of her bag. "Go ahead and do that; I'll get him fixed up."

As Jared turns to leave, he sees Jim and Misha emerge from the pen carrying a doe. Her right rear leg is visibly broken and bloody, supported by a makeshift splint. He hears Jensen's breath hitch and then what sounds suspiciously like a quiet sob. Jim and Misha put the doe on the green zoo cart and Misha starts the ignition while Jim walks over to Jensen. "You did the best you could, son," says Jim, his voice heavy with sympathy. He puts a hand on Jensen's shoulder. "It's not your fault. I doubt anyone could have saved her under these kind of conditions. Try not to take it too personally."

Jensen looks down at the ground and Jared knows that he won't accept any of what Jim said--it's part of what makes Jensen so good at his job. Jim pats Jensen on the back and walks toward the vet building. Jensen sniffles and rubs some tears away from his good eye. Jared really wants to just grab a hold of him and never let go, but he pushes the impulse down and hurries to the staff house instead to clock out. He gets his truck from the lot and parks it as close to the gate as he can. A minute later, the First Aid cart delivers Jensen to the other side of the gate. Jared helps Jensen off the cart and into the truck. It's a little tricky to get Jensen into the passenger seat without hurting him, but eventually they manage.

Jensen is silent as they pull onto the main road. Finally, Jared can't take it anymore. "Jim's right, you know."

Jensen sighs. "I know."

Jared reaches over and puts a hand on Jensen's uninjured leg. "You tried, man. That's what counts."

"She's dead, Jay," Jensen says harshly.

"_You_ could have died!" Jensen winces at Jared's shout and Jared feels like a complete asshole. "Seriously, Jen," he goes on, more quietly this time. "There were hundred-mile-an-hour winds. That's like a tornado. And you were out in it. A concussion and a few stitches--that's getting off light." He softens his voice even more. "Do you have any idea how worried everybody was about you? How worried _I_ was?"

"I'm sorry," Jensen murmurs. "But you didn't hear her. I was hiding from the rain under the bear exhibit and there was this blinding flash of light and a huge cracking noise and then I heard the tree fall on her. She _screamed_. It sounded like a little girl. I couldn't just--" He takes a deep breath. "I had to do something, you know?"

Jared swallows hard. "You did the right thing. But you heard what Jim said--_nobody_ could have saved her. It wasn't anything you did or didn't do. It was just an accident."

Jared stops the car under the emergency entrance and helps Jensen out of the truck. Jensen leans heavily on him as he limps into the waiting room. Jared takes his insurance card and goes to the desk to register him. A few minutes later, he hands the paperwork to Jensen and squeezes his shoulder. "I'm gonna move the truck. Be right back."

Once the truck is parked, Jared calls his mom and lets her know what's going on. When he goes back into the waiting room, Jensen thrusts the clipboard at him. "You have to fill these out 'cause I can't read the little tiny writing."

Jared grins. "No problem." He reads out the various lines on the forms and marks down Jensen's answers, trying to make his writing more legible than it usually is. Finally he finishes all the forms and takes them back to the desk. When he returns, Jensen leans sideways and rests his head on Jared's shoulder. Jared smiles and slips an arm around Jensen's shoulders.

"So can we be back together now?" asks Jensen sleepily. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Jared replies, swallowing past the lump that's suddenly taken up residence in his throat. "And yes, I would love to be back together with you. But we do still need to talk."

"Later, 'kay?" Jensen murmurs.

Just then Jared remembers something. He shrugs Jensen off and props him upright. "Hey, no sleeping. You've probably got a concussion."

Jensen mumbles something inaudible and slumps forward. Jared grabs him before he can fall off the chair. "Jensen?" He tips Jensen's head up; his eyes are closed and he appears to be out cold. Jared pinches Jensen's arm. "Jensen, wake up!" No response. Jared jumps up, still supporting Jensen's limp body with one hand. "We need help here!" he yells.

Next thing Jared knows, Jensen is whisked away from him and taken behind the swinging doors of the trauma unit. Jared drops into the chair, numb with shock. He's not sure how much time passes, but eventually Chris storms in, still in his soaking wet uniform, and makes a beeline for Jared. "What's going on?"

"Hell if I know," answers Jared bitterly. "One minute he was talking and the next he was just _out_. They took him to the trauma room, that's all I know."

Chris walks up to the reception desk and talks to the girl behind the glass. A few minutes later, he comes back. "He's in surgery," he tells Jared. "There was bleeding under his skull. Once the surgery's over he'll be moved to ICU." He smiles weakly. "She said they caught it early, so he should make a full recovery." Chris pulls his cell phone out of his pocket. "I've gotta call his parents. His mom's gonna freak." He frowns. "What exactly happened?"

"I don't know," replies Jared. "He was trying to save an injured doe in the deer pen. He hurt his ankle and busted up his knee when he tripped and fell, but I don't know how he hit his head."

Chris grins ruefully and shakes his head. "Sounds about right." He gestures at Jared's wet clothes. "You know, if you want to run home and change, I can hold down the fort here."

"You'll call me if anything happens?"

"Of course." Chris flips his phone open. "What's your number?"

Jared gives him the number and makes him promise to call if he finds out anything at all. "I'll be back in forty-five minutes."

"Be careful on the roads, there's a lot of trees and lines down," says Chris.

Jared nods. "Thanks." He takes a deep breath and tries to tell himself that Jensen's in good hands and there's nothing to worry about. "And thanks for... you know, being here."

Chris shakes his head. "Nowhere else I'm gonna be. He's family, y'know? Not blood, but..."

"I know." Jared smiles. "Believe me, I know."


	5. It's All Happening at the Zoo 5/5

 

Four days pass before Jared is allowed to see Jensen again. He talks to Chris daily even though Chris isn't allowed to see Jensen either and gets most of his information secondhand from Jensen's parents, who flew up from Texas. On the fourth day, Chris informs him that Jensen has been moved out of the ICU to a regular room, so Jared can visit him pretty much anytime during daylight hours.

"Before you come, there's something you should know."

Jared frowns. Chris sounds awfully grave. "What?"

"Jensen doesn't remember the accident or most of the week before it," Chris answers. "So if you guys buried the hatchet, he's not aware of it."

Jared sighs. "Okay. I'll deal."

"I told him you might stop by. He wasn't real happy about it."

"Maybe I shouldn't come, then," Jared says softly.

"Like I told you before, he's miserable without you," replies Chris. "He needs you, and I think you need him. You just gotta make him see that."

"That's not gonna be easy."

"Relationships rarely are," Chris says sagely.

Twenty minutes later, Jared finds himself outside the door of room 1134 with shaking hands and a dry mouth. He doesn't want to fuck this up. Summer is rapidly coming to an end and he can't stand the thought of Jensen just walking out of his life and never coming back. That's what spurs him to walk through the open door.

"Hey," says Jensen without meeting Jared's eyes.

"Hey yourself." Jared smiles softly. "How are you feeling?"

Jensen shrugs. "I'm all right. Ready to get out of here."

"I bet." Jared moves closer to the bed, gestures at the uncomfortable-looking plastic chair beside it. "Mind if I sit?"

"Knock yourself out." Jensen's staring down at his sheets, picking at one with the hand not bearing an IV. His head is shaved from just above his temple halfway to his ear, and there's a clean gauze pad taped over the surgical site.

"What did Chris tell you about the accident?"

"Not much." Jensen shrugs again. "He didn't see it, and I haven't talked to anyone who did."

"None of the keepers have been by?"

"I just got out of ICU this morning," Jensen answers. "You're my first non-family visitor, other than Chris."

Jared scoots the chair closer. "Jensen, look at me." Jensen flicks his eyes up to Jared's for only a second. "I mean, really look at me." Jensen sighs but does as Jared asks. "I was a complete asshole and I know it. I never should have said what I said at the fireworks. And now... hell, I'm starting to think I should have let Chris kill me."

The corner of Jensen's mouth twitches. "He's a little... protective sometimes."

"He's got good reason to be. You're a pretty special guy, Jensen." Jensen blushes slightly and drops his gaze back down to the sheets. "You have no idea how worried I was when you were missing. And then, when Samantha told me you were asking for me..." Now it's Jared's turn to look down at his hands. "I should have known it was just the head injury talking."

There's a minute of silence before Jensen speaks up. "I missed you."

"You said that before, too," Jared replies. "And then you passed out, so I wasn't sure if I should believe you."

Jensen grins slightly. "I may have--encouraged--Chris to threaten you... just a little." He looks up at Jared finally with a hint of hope in his eyes. "I thought it might make you come around."

"You could have just talked to me."

"I wanted to." Jensen picks at the sheet again. "But I kept hearing your words in my head and then I couldn't do it."

"About that," says Jared, moving the chair closer and laying his hand on top of Jensen's. "I'm really, really sorry. I never meant to hurt you like that. I should have given you a chance to explain. I'm a jerk, and I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Jensen grins, this time with more of his usual fire. "That depends. Are you willing to make it up to me?"

"Oh, I'll make it up to you," replies Jared with a wicked smirk. "I'll make it up to you so well you won't be able to sit down for a week."

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

Jared grins. "You tell me."

**Epilogue**

 

Jared hands his uniform to the short blonde behind the counter. She smiles at him. "Going back to school?"

"Yeah." He watches her refold the windbreaker into its own front pocket. He never got the hang of that trick. "See you next year."

"Likewise." She grins and turns to hang his shirts on the conveyor belt.

Jared walks out into the fading late-August sunlight. "I can't believe this is our last night together."

Jensen sighs. "I know. It's going to be a long six weeks until fall break." He entwines his fingers with Jared's. "Come on, emo boy, you promised me ice cream."

"And sex," Jared points out. "How are you more excited about ice cream than sex?"

"I'm not." Jensen tugs on Jared's hand. "I'm just starving. Stupid reptile show--I didn't get dinner."

"Aww, poor baby," teases Jared, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Come on then."

Jensen stops and presses his lips to Jared's for a proper kiss. "I'm really gonna miss you."

"Me too." Jared wraps an arm around Jensen's shoulders. "Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"You are such a sap," replies Jensen, but he's smiling.

"Oh, did I tell you? I picked a major," says Jared.

"No, what is it?"

"Hotel, Restaurant, and Industrial Management," Jared answers. "Maybe I'll run this place someday."

"You'd be great at it," says Jensen. "You love this place. It's in your blood."

"Of course, you'll be running the zoo for me."

"Of course." Jensen grins and stops to let Jared open the truck door for him.

"You're totally my bitch," says Jared. "It's adorable."

"Less talking, more driving," Jensen replies, but he pulls Jared in for a kiss before he lets him close the door.


End file.
